Thread: Everite...surprisingly good quick shave

I am intrigued with the "safety" razors that seem to have a foot in the SR and SE camps at the same time. I bought a Wilkinson Sword Empire set a while back because it was in great condition and the price was about half of what I had seen them going for on fleabay. I honed the blades and tried a shave with it. I was not impressed. Hard to handle (very top heavy), not a very good shave either. But its cool looking.

I saw an Everite "straight safety razor" and was impressed with its stark simplicity. A thick hollow ground blade that is drilled and tapped to have the handle screwed into the side of the blade for storage or honing/stropping and a slip on stainless guard that protects the blade during storage and is the "safety" part of the razor when the handle is screwed into the bottom of the blade.

I saw a nice one on fleabay for a Jackson and decided what the hell. It arrived a couple of days ago. Case, razor, hone and strop were in great condition and the paper instructions were ok but showing some wear. The blade is a massive piece of steel compared to the Wilkinson blades and the edge was clearly in need of attention, so I ran it through my Naniwas to a hair popping edge. With the handle screwed into the side of the blade, it is super easy to strop on my hanging strop. Using the "box strop" seems a bit awkward...Maybe it gets better with practice? Anyway it went in a drawer ready for use.

This morning I was a bit pushed for time so I decided to pull out the Everite and see if I could get a shave any quicker than one of my str8's. I did a two pass shave with the Everite and got close to a DFS while hurrying on a first use. Easy to use, much better on the balance than the Wilkinson even with that massive chunk of Soligen steel for a blade. I was impressed with the result. It may find its way into my travel kit!

I recently got one of those sets myself. I prefer it to the Rolls Razor set (which is similar) because the Everite allows easy stropping and honing outside the set itself.

I just honed the blade as I would a normal straight, and strop it on my regular hanging strops. It shaves pretty well, even with the guard.

I have one of these in the mail. Have you guys used the hone and strop that it comes with? If so, how are they? What can the hone be compared to? Have you guys tried shaving both as a straight, and as a safety? Which way do you think works best?

Wow. Thats a lot of questions. Im excited to give this instrument a shot. However, I can't help but think of this product as an "As seen on TV" gimick. Although, with soligen steel, I'm sure it doesn't shave half bad.

I honed mine on my Naniwas and I strop it on my hanging strop. I use it in the "hoe" position. If I want to use a straight I nave plenty to use. I don't believe the intent of the designer was for this ever to be used as a straight. It just converts to that configuration for maintenance. The included hone is comparable to any number of barbers hones. I kind of half-heartedly played with the hone and strop in the box. Difficult to use efficiently is how I would sum that up. Easy to push the blade around on a hone with fingers and with the handle in the "straight" position, very easy to strop on my hanging strop.

My guess is you got that from c...f...m on eBay. That was unusual enough and pristine enough that I had a serious case of the wants. I finally kicked my gearshift back into neutral or you'd have had some serious competition....of course not knowing you were from SRP!!



Enjoy it in good health!!

Best Regards,

Howard

Originally Posted by SirStropalot

My guess is you got that from c...f...m on eBay. That was unusual enough and pristine enough that I had a serious case of the wants. I finally kicked my gearshift back into neutral or you'd have had some serious competition....of course not knowing you were from SRP!!



Enjoy it in good health!!

Best Regards,

Howard

That was the one. I was unable to exercise the self control that you expressed this time around. Kudos to you! Although, it is a fun little piece.

It is much smaller then I thought it would be. I don't know what I was expecting, but it is very similar in size to some of the vintage DE's I have seen. I haven't tried shaving with it yet. I recently acquired a Suehiro 20k, and for some reason (haha) I can't stop shaving with the straights that I have finished on that hone. I did bring this little gem up to the SG 20k as well, but I am really enjoying the straights right now. I will definitely post again when I do shave with this hybrid, and report the experience. Who knows, if I like it enough, it may replace my DE altogether (no more buying blades?), but I doubt it.

Take care,

Jeremy

Jeremy,

Yeah, it wasn't so much self control, more wallet control. I just love old contraptions and special items. I look forward to hearing what you think after you try it.

SG 20k....great hone!!

Howard

I just sealed the deal on a NOS Everite, just five minutes ago. I got it at so ridiculous a price I will not mention it. Way below the $159.00 one I saw listed earlier. I will answer PM's for anyone curious enough to want to torture themselves with a bargain someone else got. Believe me, this doesn't happen to me but once a decade.